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12.11.2007

By KEVIN GEORGE
Editor

OCEAN CITY, Md. — The speaker may still hold rookie status as Maryland deputy secretary of agriculture, but Earl “Buddy” Hance was certainly no unknown when he spoke to jam-packed room at the Maryland Farm Bureau’s 92nd annual banquet on Dec. 4.
He ended his four-year tenure as MFB president 10 months ago to accept his current position with the state government.
Hance’s successor, Mike Phipps, recognized Hance’s previous work with the Maryland Farm Bureau by presenting him with a Service to Farm Bureau Award during that night’s dinner reception.
Earlier that day, Hance filled in for Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Roger Richardson, the scheduled speaker of that spot, when Richardson was unable to make the mid-afternoon trip to Ocean City because of a meeting that each of the other secretaries of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s cabinet were expected to attend.
Hance noted the state’s agricultural community should be willing to trust the Maryland government again — as opposed to the times of the Parris Glendening Administration of the late 1990s.
“Things are changing,” Hance said. “We have a new administration and a new leadership with the department [Richardson began his tenure last January]. Every day there’s a new opportunity I see for agriculture.”
He illustrated the contrast between today’s relationship between agriculture and state government to make his point.
“There are people out there that are on your side,” Hance said. “We all think back to 1998, ... but there’s a big difference today. Today we have friends we didn’t have then. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is (now) your friend. The governor is also your friend. He has a deep, deep interest in (agriculture’s) sustainability. ... He is deeply committed to helping all of you.”
Hance acknowledged the agricultural landscape is changing, and farmers should be willing to adapt.
“I go around and I hear people say that there’s no future in agriculture,” he said. “If you’re trying to farm the same way you did four years ago — you’re absolutely right. But there’s a tremendous future in this state if you’re willing to adapt and modify what you do.
“There are challenges, but they bring opportunities. It’s up to you all to recognize those opportunities and meet those challenges.”
He listed grape vineyards and agritourism sites among example of proven successful new-age ventures for state farmers.
“It’s all about profitability,” said Hance, quoting O’Malley’s philosophy. “If farmers can’t make money, they’re not going to stay on the land.”